What is free software?

“Free Software” means computer software that grants the user freedom instead of restrictions. While proprietary program licenses focus on limiting the user, free software licenses give several important freedoms:

1. to use the software the way you want
2. to study how the program is built and be able to modify and improve it such that it better suits your needs
3. to copy and distribute the software to whoever you wish
4. to distribute your improved version to others – as long as they get to enjoy these same freedoms

In practice, this means that free software is free of charge. But this is far from being the most important benefit. The real lasting value lies in the freedom and control granted to the user.

Many names, one meaning

There are several related buzzwords: “Open Source”, “Open Software” and “Freeware”. While Freeware only means the software free of charge, real free software gives the far more important freedoms.

When the term “Open Source” is used, it creates a distance to those who don't know what “source” means. Short explanation : People write software in different programming languages. This is the “source code” that is translated into “machine code” so that the computer can execute the program. The machine code is not understandable by human beings, but the source code is. Without access to the source code, you cannot modify the program.

Open source commonly refers to you having access to the source code so that you may modify it. Other types of software exist whose source code is accessible without the freedom of modifying or distributing it. Microsoft's “shared source”, for example, does not meet EU's definition of open source.

“Open software” and “Open Source” are often used as synonyms of free software. The word “open” has been a fashionable word in the IT field, whereas the word “free” gives a more accurate picture of users' rights.

What is a free license?

A license is not synonymous with money, as we are used to thinking. The license is the text telling you your rights and limitations in using the program. There are several free licenses available. The most important is the GPL (the GNU General Public License), under which, for example, the operating system Linux is released. It guarantees the four freedoms listed above. Software that is available under a free license has two clear advantages:

1. A good cost distribution model for development
2. The control is shifted from the vendor to the user

How do you get more control over your own IT systems?

If you use proprietary software, you may find that the version you are using is no longer maintained. You have to buy upgrades to maintain the security of the system. In this way you are locked in to the software vendor.

Lets take the example of a customer who buys a content management system (CMS) from a vendor. The software is proprietary and the customer is locked in to this vendor. Later the vendor is acquired by a different company. The new owners are not interested in the CMS. The customer is urged to replace the system, an expensive shift that is not on the current budget. If the customer had chosen a free software CMS, they could have gone to another vendor and asked them to take over the future development.

Free Software promotes freedom of choice and competition

In the history of science, development has been open. Scientists build upon the works of others. Just imagine how it would be if Albert Einstein was told that Newton's theory of gravity was patented. And that Einstein must pay a substantial amount of money just to read the theory to be able to develop it further. A poor student would not be able to do that. He would simply have to start from scratch – sit under an apple tree and wait for an apple to fall on his head. In such a world, man would not yet have landed on moon. Newton himself said, “If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. The giants he referred to were the great Greek philosophers.

Free software promotes competition and removes the possibility of monopolies in the software industry. It places the user's rights in focus and removes the traditional stranglehold that the vendor has over its customers. Free software lowers the threshold for contributions to development and for making use of the applications. It promotes local businesses and innovation. In addition, it creates faster growth in the IT industry when all are free to build on what others have created.

How can we say that free software development has a good cost distribution model?

Firstly, it costs nothing to obtain and use the software, since it is freely accessible and free to use. It is easy to achieve momentum and a large user group. Users will want new functionality. Some users will themselves contribute developments. Others will pay developers to implement the functionality they need. This generally means that time and money gravitate toward improvements that are wanted by the users. The development cost is distributed among those who want the improvements. Other typical costs we see in the big proprietary software houses are eliminated: Marketing, salary for programmers when they are not productive, profits to shareholders etc.

Natural development with focus on the customer

The makers of closed software tend to function as collectors of license fees. Providers of free software, on the other hand, get paid directly for the development they do and for the support they provide. They are often more customer and service oriented.

The difference lies in covering the cost of software development. Proprietary software uses license fees while free software developers get paid directly for developing the software. It can be easier to meet customers' requirements with the second model.

The driving force behind free software

If you choose proprietary software, you lose control over it. You pay the annual license fees without knowing whether the vendor will keep the current price level in the future. You are bound to one supplier and thus it becomes expensive to switch.

If you choose to use free software, like Linux, in your systems, you keep control over it. You escape the license hunt. You are no longer at the mercy of how a vendor wants to further develop the system.

If you get a customized IT system developed, you can choose to release this under free license. This allows others to use the software. Other programmers can develop the solution further. Such further development will be beneficial to you, without you paying for it. Free flow of software means no need to reinvent the wheel.

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